Caitlyn Finton, PhD

Science Writing and Communication

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  • Meet the burrowing owl

    Meet the burrowing owl

    I have a surprise for you: there’s an owl that lives underground. AND IT’S SO CUTE!!!! This little owl is a burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia). Burrowing owls are small, slender birds with long legs. They weigh only 4 – 7 ounces (113 – 198 grams) and are about 8 inches (20 cm) long. In fact,…

    Caitlyn Finton

    September 29, 2023
    Animal Fridays
    america, animal friday, bird, burrowing owl, north america, owl, south america
  • Meet the white-tailed deer

    Meet the white-tailed deer

    I’m going on vacation next week, and I’m very excited! I’m spending some time at Mackinac Island (pronounced ma-kuh-naw), a little, car-free island between the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan. As I looked up what type of wildlife I might find, one surprised me: the white-tailed deer. I’m familiar with white-tailed deer, as I’m…

    Caitlyn Finton

    September 15, 2023
    Animal Fridays
    animal friday, deer, mammal, north america, south america, white-tailed deer
  • Meet the bearded vulture

    Meet the bearded vulture

    Last week was International Vulture Awareness Day! And what better way to celebrate than taking a closer look at the prettiest vulture around: the bearded vulture. Bearded vultures (Gypateus barbatus), also known as lammergeiers, are scavenger birds found across southern Europe and Asia. Their typical habitat is at high elevations in mountainous regions; most often,…

    Caitlyn Finton

    September 8, 2023
    Animal Fridays
    animal friday, Asia, bearded vulture, bird, Europe, vulture
  • Meet the meerkat

    Meet the meerkat

    It’s the September 1st. Here in Boston, the temperature is starting to (somewhat) cool down, and the nights are getting longer. And, of course, the hallmark of fall: school is starting again, and the streets are full of new, excited students. Which means it’s only fitting to talk about an animal whose young also goes…

    Caitlyn Finton

    September 1, 2023
    Animal Fridays
    africa, animal friday, desert, mammal, meerkat
  • Meet the okapi

    Meet the okapi

    Some weeks, I pick animals related to what’s going on in my life. Other weeks, I pick an animal that I think is cool. This week is one of the later ones. I just think okapis are neat! Okapis (Okapia johnstoni) are hoofed mammals found only in the rainforest of the Democratic Republic of the…

    Caitlyn Finton

    August 25, 2023
    Animal Fridays
    africa, animal friday, mammal, okapi
  • Meet the sea otter

    Meet the sea otter

    BREAKING NEWS: At the time of writing, Otter 841 is still at large! Otter 841 is a sea otter stealing surfboards off the coast of Santa Cruz, California. The government has been trying to catch Otter 841 for weeks, but they just can’t get her! Like other members of her species, she seems to be a…

    Caitlyn Finton

    August 18, 2023
    Animal Fridays
    animal friday, Asia, marine, mustelid, north america, otter, pacific ocean, sea otter
  • Meet the koala

    Meet the koala

    I have been really sleepy lately. But even with how tired I’ve been feeling, one animal can still out-sleep me: the koala. Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) hold the record for the sleepiest animal, sleeping between 18 and 22 hours a day. These small animals are arboreal and spend almost their entire lives in the eucalyptus trees…

    Caitlyn Finton

    August 11, 2023
    Animal Fridays
    animal friday, Australia, koala, mammal, marsupial
  • Meet the giraffe

    Meet the giraffe

    There’s a new animal at the local zoo: a Masai giraffe calf! The son of mom Amari and dad Chad (A+ giraffe name), the little giraffe seems to be healthy and thriving. As I read the exciting news, I was struck by the word ‘Masai.’ What is a Masai giraffe? Is it different from a regular…

    Caitlyn Finton

    August 4, 2023
    Animal Fridays
    africa, animal friday, giraffe, mammal
  • Meet the electric eel

    Meet the electric eel

    It’s been a stressful and exciting week in my household. We had a big rainstorm over the weekend, and our roof started leaking. Not great! But want to know what was even worse? Water started coming out of our breaker box…yeah, not an ideal scenario! It’s all fixed now, but it got come thinking –…

    Caitlyn Finton

    July 28, 2023
    Animal Fridays
    animal friday, electric eel, river, south america
  • Meet the peregrine falcon

    Meet the peregrine falcon

    It’s been an exciting month at work – we’ve had juvenile peregrine falcons hanging around! The parents have a nest in the building across the street from us, and the babies have apparently decided that the balcony on the 15th floor is a great place to chill. It’s been so cool to get to see…

    Caitlyn Finton

    July 21, 2023
    Animal Fridays
    animal friday, avian, bird, peregrine falcon, raptor, worldwide
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